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AIBU?

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Original poster

To ask if you have even known a member of the government

276 replies

Alexiaridesagain · 09/01/2021 21:07

And what are they like in real life by senior I mean
-Boris
-Priti Patel
-Rishi Sunak
-Dominic Cummings
-gavin Williamson
-Micheal Gove
-etc

OP posts:
TaraR2020 · 10/01/2021 12:03

*smint

(Autocorrect!)

MrsExpo · 10/01/2021 12:15

I am acquainted with our MP (Tory) as they live near me. Won't say who it is ......

I find them a caring, decent, mature and responsible person who genuinely cares about the constituency and its issues, although I have seen them thoroughly slagged off for various things. I think MPs have a public personna which is often very unlike what they are really like as people.

MorganKitten · 10/01/2021 12:18

I went out with a speech writer for a very high up mp, I’ve had dates in the Houses of Parliament bars so met a few.

The leader of one party lives in my road and he’s actually a nice man.

AccidentallyRunToWindsor · 10/01/2021 12:19

I used to go on nights out with our local MP when he worked at GAP if that counts?

MorganKitten · 10/01/2021 12:19

Oh and a Tory mp goes to the same ‘couples’ bar I do....

Dailyhandtowelwash · 10/01/2021 12:21

I have liked many politicians whose politics I disliked, and vice versa. I do think that to become an MP you need to be a certain type of person that I could never be, to survive the party system. Someone I went to school with was a junior Minister in a previous Government and was very different to others even back then, ditto a current backbencher with a high media profile I knew at uni. But I think a lot of them are really committed, moral people who want to change the world for the better, however they think that looks.

Plenty of them are also horrible!

j712adrian · 10/01/2021 12:29

Bloke here. I managed a hospital in Edwina Currie's constituency in the late 80s. She wanted to do a visit between Xmas and New Year which I was heavily hacked off with, not being that keen on her politics or stewardship of the Department of Health either.

By 10 seconds into the visit I thought she was the most amazingly beautiful woman I'd ever met, far better looking than she comes over on TV. Lovely person too, very dedicated to public service. And tiny.

Smileyaxolotl1 · 10/01/2021 12:29

I have met lots of Tory MPs in a previous job.
Priti Patel - very cold and ruthless. Can’t stand criticism.
Michael Howard - surprising nice, charismatic and a good laugh.
Liam Fox - lovely, gorgeous voice but very lightweight.
Theresa May- pleasant and competent but lacked personality.

j712adrian · 10/01/2021 12:31

I've seen Gavin Williamson described in the Yorkshire Post this week as "Scarborough's answer to Mr Bean" ...... ROFL!

m00rfarm · 10/01/2021 12:39

What about Ed Balls - after watching Strictly I imagine him to be a lovely person with a great sense of humour ... please do not disappoint!

Devonchills · 10/01/2021 12:39

Rishi..
Absolutely wonderful, very kind, interesting and intelligent.

Halsall · 10/01/2021 13:03

I met Tony Benn once who was wonderful. Very polite, very intelligent and gave the impression of not suffering fools gladly

Tony Benn bought me breakfast on a train journey many moons ago
We chatted about life in general for a good hour or so and he was lovely

A family friend of my parents' generation (now dead, sadly) had been, rather unusually, a chauffeur (or chauffeuse?) for the civil service - thinking about it now, I have no idea how she came to have what must have been quite a rare job for a woman - and was a regular driver for Tony Benn, probably in the 50s/60s. She always praised him and said he was particularly nice to her, always struck up conversations. Not something she could say for some of the other politicians she had to drive around (iirc she wasn't keen on Edward Heath).

OllyBJolly · 10/01/2021 13:12

I wonder if I worked with your scarily tall MP @Lepetitpiggy ! Tory, 6ft 5 and one of the nicest men ever. Very genuine and hardworking.

Lepetitpiggy · 10/01/2021 13:19

Not Tory - but probably that tall!

Nanny0gg · 10/01/2021 13:40

@IfTheSockFits

No MPs as such, but I did once work with Andrew Neil for a short time. That was an eye-opener.
Do tell!!
BraeburnPlace · 10/01/2021 13:40

Two Conservative MP's.

One lives a very separate life to his wife and children! Arrogant, doesn't listen to the views of anyone that might think anything different to him.

Another, looks for the photo ops. but really averse to getting involved in any tough decisions or any decisions that might be unpopular locally, quickly distancing himself. Local meeting he attended he was dull, bored, uninterested, late and ill prepared.

Buttercup2021 · 10/01/2021 13:52

A friend of mine was at Winchester with Rishi and says he was a very nice guy but unremarkable until a write up on his wedding in the Trusty Servant.

Another friend was at a different school with Jake Berry, who was extremely popular and also really not very bright.

Tootiredtogotobed · 10/01/2021 13:57

Ed Balls is lovely, he is very charismatic and made time for everybody when I met him during a campaign.

AllAboutHallowsEve · 10/01/2021 14:15

Former colleagues of mine worked with Ed Balls when he was chancellor and have nothing but nice things to say about him.

OhWhyNot · 10/01/2021 14:16

Tony and Cherie Blair

I worked in a department that Cherie worked with. She was very highly respected before her husband was leader of the Labour Party. She was very nice and Is a very warm person

He would visit someone I worked with often (he was leader of Labour then) extremely charming and the most charismatic person I have ever met

Iwillneverbesatisfied · 10/01/2021 14:19

Met Gordon Brown. Really liked him.

1dayatatime · 10/01/2021 14:31

@Dee1975

I’ve met Jacob Rees-mogg on a few occasions and I find him a really nice, decent down to earth man. I think he is very misunderstood and gets a lot of unnecessary criticism - he is an easy target for ‘anti Tory’ voters
I've also spoken to JRM a couple of times through my children's school. Although I disagree with his politics I can see his is clearly intelligent and I would say fairly honest as politicians go, it's just that I disagree with pretty much everything he says.
MorganKitten · 10/01/2021 15:55

I will say George Galloway is a vile man, I unfortunately met him a few times.

GeneticTest · 10/01/2021 16:20

I have met lots of senior MPs. From a range of different parties- but more from one party as I’m married to an MP. So far I’ve met & chatted in social settings to 3 current or former Prime ministers...

I know the wives/partners/husbands better though Smile

Some MPs are exactly as you’d imagine. Some are much ruder than you’d expect, some are much nicer in person.

And some of the House of Lords are incredibly pompous.

SecretSpAD · 10/01/2021 16:24

My brother was at school and university with Boris. He thinks he's a great bloke, but as my brother is a grade A twat I wouldn't trust his judgement.

Totally agree re Blair's cabinet. I worked in Westminster then as well and they were all a class above the current lot and knew their areas of specialism too.

Have met Priti Patel in a professional sense - she is as bad as everyone says. No, in fact she's worse. Totally disgusting human being. As is Michael Gove, Dominic Raab and Jacob Rees-Mogg. Actually the entire cabinet, apart from maybe Matt Hancock who is a nice enough bloke, but thick as shit.

I disagreed with everything Jeremy Hunt said and did when he was Health Secretary, but since he became Chair of the Select Ctte he seems to have grown a brain and a heart.